


even the stars burn (some even fall)

by selvish



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sad Calum, for emily bc she wrote me somethin Raunchy and im grateful, luke's dad owns a pet store, this is a happy fic dw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 15:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4397426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selvish/pseuds/selvish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The poster on the front window read "Andy's Friends" and as always, he chuckled and shook his head. Only once did he ask the owner why he chose such a silly name; the man had winked and replied,<br/>"Animals are friends, not products.”</p>
<p>aka “Once a week I go to visit the pet store just to stare at the cute kitties and puppies and you’re the nice employee who always lets me hold them”</p>
            </blockquote>





	even the stars burn (some even fall)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [emiliathegreat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emiliathegreat/gifts).



Today was the worst day of Calum's life. His first alarm wasn't set so he turned it off anticipating a second that never came, thus he was forced to miss his English lecture. According to his professor, if he messed up like this two more times he would lose credit for the quarter, drop out of college from the shame, and die homeless and alone.

Calum didn't believe him in the slightest considering the man rarely took roll, but that didn't mean he didn't spend the two hours immediately following the late wake up pacing his apartment with a growing anxiety clouding his thoughts. Eventually his roommate (and best friend, lest he forget) Michael came home to smack him (violently) upside the head and tell him to stop being a drama queen.

He decides he's filled his moping quota for today and starts getting dressed. Upon putting on his shirt twice (it was backwards the first time) he realized he hadn't properly showered in four days, and whipped the clothing across the room before heading into the bathroom and slamming the door shut with a string of grumbled profanities.

The shower sputtered to life with some help from the prayers Calum whispered to it, and it wasn't until he was halfway through rinsing soap off his back did it turn to freezing and cause him to scream and slip to the basin, narrowly avoiding cracking his head open. He scrambled to turn the knob and shut it off, and took a few moments to breathe against the wall. The tan boy was shaking violently, and he bit his lip to keep from crying in frustration.

A knock on the door cause him to raise his head, and he heard Michael softly speaking through the wood,

"You alright mate?"

Calum nodded and drew in a shaky breath as he stood to lean against the door.

"I'm okay, Mike, thanks."

He could tell his friend (best friend) was debating on leaving or not, so he opened to door after grabbing a towel and held out his finger to tap it against the paler boy's.

Michael exhaled and tapped back, smiling warmly before walking back into the living room. The brunette tightened the towel around his waist and slowly got dressed (correctly and more calmly).

He exited his room without further complications and picked up his keys on his way to the front door. When he passed the living room he made sure to call out to Michael, "I'm going to Andy's." before closing the door and trotting down the stairs and to the side street where his car was parked.

Calum climbed in and took another second to breathe. His fingers drummed against the wheel for a moment before he turned it on and peeled out. When the radio came on he turned it up, and let the music relax his still tense muscles.

It only took about 10 minutes to reach the center of town, and he was a bit surprised to notice that the sun was setting already. He walked a bit quicker towards a small building squished in between a tired laundromat and the curb. Nervously he eyes the hours sign, but smiled slightly when he realized he still had 10 minutes before they closed.

The poster on the front window read "Andy's Friends" and as always, he chuckled and shook his head. Only once did he ask the owner why he chose such a silly name; the man had winked and replied,

"Animals are friends, not products.”

Calum had laughed, but over time he started to understand where Andy had been coming from. The puppies they kept behind the gates tended to have more personality than the people he saw coming to and from classes every day. (Albeit puppies don’t need to pay student loans). Ever since he was first exposed to their innocent thirst for affection and love, he made it his ritual to go and sit with them whenever he was sad. One day he fell asleep sitting against the wall with his fingers still being licked by one of them. He had tear tracks down his face, and that was when Andy’s youngest son came in from the back room.

He had crouched beside Calum, shaking his shoulder lightly and whispering until he woke up. The first thing Calum noticed was the glint of the boy’s lip ring, and after blearily blinking he jumped and pressed himself further against the wall. The boy pulled back his hand and fell over, and they sat for a second staring at each other until slowly they started to laugh.

After it had subsided, Luke introduced himself, and then Calum. Another minute of staring went by as they took in each other’s features and committed the names to memory. Luke looked over to the gate while pulling his lip ring between his teeth. He worried it for a moment before standing up and getting keys from the counter. The blonde squatted across from Calum and with a dopey smile asked,

“Want to play with them?”

The tan boy’s entire face lit up as he nodded feverishly with excitement and without any recognition of the fact that he looked like a puppy himself. Luke giggled as he turned the lock to the gate, and instantly two of the dogs were on top of them. They spent the next half hour playing around with them until they fell asleep and the boys shared stories in whispers.

That had been months ago, and still Calum visited on grey days (now when he knew Luke would be working). So without further reminiscing he opened the door and trudged in. He shut it slightly louder than necessary so the other boy could hear from the back. By the time he had his face smooshed against the fence and one hand petting the closest puppy, Luke was behind him with the keys.

He always was silent when he first showed up, not wanting to talk about what was wrong initially. It took him a while to open up to people, and only recently had he shared anything serious with Luke at all.

Minutes went by of the two absentmindedly playing with the three dogs currently in the store. Once the little ones had settled to a dull roar instead of rapid barking, they sat down across from each other in the same spots as the first meeting. Luke was unabashedly staring at the brunette, since he could tell this day was worse than usual. Calum looked up and took a shaky breath before lowering his head so his puppy could lick his cheek.

“It’s stupid.” He started, with his voice already cracking. “It’s just a bad day. Nothing serious. I don’t know why it’s effecting me so much.”

He recounted the day’s events and kept his eyes to the big brown eyes staring up from his lap, letting his hand drag through the owner’s fur as he spoke. When he finished and looked up, Luke scooted closer and kissed his forehead, holding for a few seconds before drawing away with his eyes shut. He opened them and smiled as he placed his hand on Calum’s leg.

“I’m sorry.” He said softly, obviously unsure of how to convey how sorry he felt for the other without overstepping his bounds.

The brunette simply sat with his eyes wide, staring at Luke and letting his mouth fall open just slightly. The place where lips had been was tingling on his forehead, and the cool of his lip ring had only made it more intense. Luke shifted slightly, opening his mouth to apologize but being cut off by Calum’s face splitting into a grin. He laughed again, the breathy one that his eyes scrunch up with, and Luke chuckled with a confused smile on his face.

Calum gently lifted the puppy from his lap and placed it safely a few inches from him. He leaned forward even more and gently pressed his lips to Luke’s, still smiling softly. When he pulled away, Luke was staring at him with his bright blue eyes wide, but he only saw them for a moment before he was brought back in with hands on his shoulders.

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!! i hope u like this!!! i wrote it on the train so sorry if it sucks  
> follow me on tumblr if u want im calumsboyfriend
> 
> btw that little malum finger touch thing is something my dad and i do to check in if im sad and its really nice so if u easily get overwhelmed by physical stuff u should try it with ur parents or friends
> 
> comment please!!!! im working on a Big Fic rn so people liking what i write encourages me


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